'I was Liverpool's INCREDIBLE Champions League hero but now I'm bottom of League Two'

The 2020/21 season was most definitely Liverpool's worst season under Jurgen Klopp and yet it will likely be one of the campaigns that fans will most fondly remember.

The side finished their last 10 Premier League games unbeaten - winning eight - most notably succeeding away against Arsenal and Manchester United to qualify for the Champions League after their hopes had been all but written off.

In what proved to be perhaps Liverpool's most challenging season in recent memory, the Reds somehow managed to secure top four in the Premier League on the last day of the season.

READ MORE: Liverpool ready to sell 'unbelievable' midfielder

Virgil van Dijk had torn his ACL in a controversial challenge from Jordan Pickford in the derby match against Everton earlier that season and the Reds' defensive personnel was left battered and bruised.

As such, Jurgen Klopp had to make drastic alterations to his first-team lineup and before long he was requiring fringe players to deliver standout performances as the games came thick and fast.

Rhys Williams: Emergency centre-back

Rhys Williams is one such young Liverpool academy graduate who instantly came into the spotlight.

Aged just 19, the English centre-back was highly rated by Jurgen Klopp and in that injury-ridden season, Liverpool quickly had to call on the youngster's services.

Most notably, he was given his Champions League debut in Liverpool's group with Ajax, Atalanta and Midtjylland, featuring in all six matches and helping the Reds to top the group with 13 points.

He partnered Joe Gomez, Fabinho and Joel Matip at centre-back in that time.

Also alongside Williams was Nat Phillips, a cult-hero player who typified the fight and determination in a side that had battled adversity all season long.

Klopp praises 'incredible' Williams

The club subsequently moved on from Williams, as the first team's main defensive unit returned to full fitness, but he was absolutely essential to Liverpool's positive end to a difficult campaign and when he was needed most, he gave his heart and soul into his performances.

When Liverpool made it to the Champions League final in the following season, coming up against Real Madrid in a match they went on to lose, Jurgen Klopp reminisced on how miraculous it was that Liverpool even qualified for Europe in the season prior.

He said: "I messaged Rhys Williams and Nat Phillips - we wouldn't be there without them. I remember the final game of last season and they left the pitch with a bandage around the head, cuts on their faces, and that was really a symbol for the whole period.

"Hopefully nobody forgot how hard we fought to get here. We felt it mentally. We had no centre-halves, had to play midfielders in the last line, then had to use other players in midfield and nothing worked really.

"In the end, we played with two incredible players - Rhys and Nat - but we couldn't use them earlier because they needed time to adapt. So, yes there was a bit of a point to prove and I'm really happy that the boys did that."

Rhys Williams' tumultuous journey

For the 2021/22 campaign, he was sent on loan to Championship side Swansea before returning to Liverpool in the January transfer window to add to the Reds' defensive depth, although he spent much of his time with the under-21s.

Then he was moved on loan to Blackpool, another side in the Championship, where he played almost every game in the first half of the season when again he was returned to Liverpool in January to play for Liverpool's u21s.

The 2023/24 season was much of the same, this time on loan at Aberdeen until February, collecting experiences as he was finally given time to learn his trade as a first-team centre-back, after having to adapt in such a short space of time during his stint at Liverpool.

Rhys Williams at League Two Morecambe

Now, four seasons after his Liverpool heroics, Williams is at League Two side Morecambe, on the fifth loan move of his career, in a team that has struggled.

The Shrimps find themselves sat in 24th after the opening 15 games of the season, with just two league wins to their name, although they have started well in their Football League Trophy campaign.

In recent weeks, the fans have really started to warm to the English centre-back, scoring goals in back-to-back games to notch up two very important wins in the FA Cup and League Two.

He was on hand to score the go-ahead goal in the weekend victory away to Harrogate Town, a result which nudges Morecambe closer to safety.

Where does Williams go from here?

We are yet to know if Williams has a future at Liverpool, but given the number of loan moves in his career so far, it seems as though the club have begun their mission to find him a future home for the long term.

Liverpool have looked to focus their defensive opportunities on different young players at the club, such as Jarell Quansah, and so Williams will likely have been pushed out.

But speaking to Sky Sports last week, he revealed that he is positive about succeeding in the long term.

He said: "Trent [Alexander-Arnold] said when I went back to Liverpool after I had been at Port Vale that 'availability is the best ability in football' and that really made me realise that as long as you're fit, you're always going to have a chance to get on the grass."

As Williams is still only 23 years old, the future is set to be bright for the young Liverpool talent, and wherever he makes his mark I don't think there is any Liverpool fan who wouldn't want to wish him well after serving the club so well in 2020/21.

READ MORE: EXCLUSIVE: The MASSIVE cost of Liverpool transfer DOOMSDAY revealed